SpaceX Manned Dragon Spacecraft Arriving at the International Space Station for Automatic Docking

Picture: SpaceXs Crew Dragon slowly approached the International Space Station on the morning of March 3, local time.

Netease Technologies News, March 4, according to TheVerge, on the second day of launch into orbit, SpaceXs Crew Dragon docked with the International Space Station, which is a key part of the companys current test flight. When the manned dragon spacecraft begins to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station, this docking operation will become a routine operation in the future.

SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a manned dragon spacecraft around 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

On the morning of the 3rd, SpaceX sent the manned dragon spacecraft to different locations outside the space station to test the docking capability of the spacecraft. With propellers, the spacecraft regularly approached the International Space Station and then remained in position for two and a half hours. The spacecraft even retreated once to test its ability to retreat in an emergency. Then, when the manned dragon spacecraft reached a distance of about 20 meters, the final instructions were sent to the capsule to dock with the International Space Station.

At 5:51 p.m. local time on the 3rd, the capsule was attached to the docking port, and various hooks were deployed outside the interface to ensure the stability of the capsule. We can confirm that the hard capture mission has been completed, said Anne McClain, NASA astronaut and current ISS worker. David Saint-Jacques, a Canadian astronaut who also works on the International Space Station, said: Congratulations again to teams around the world who helped make this mission a success.

Photo: Anne McLean and David St. Jacques are ready to open the hatch of the International Space Station to welcome the arrival of the Manned Dragon Spacecraft.

Its a new technology for SpaceX, which has never automatically docked a spacecraft to a space station before. Since May 2012, SpaceX has been launching cargo dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, but all of these vehicles have docked in mooring mode. Astronauts on the International Space Station capture the capsule with robotic arms, and then transfer the Dragon spacecraft to the available docking ports. Now, the new Manned Dragon Spacecraft has shown that it no longer needs this traditional model.

The docking marked a major success for SpaceX and NASAs Commercial Astronaut Program. Manned Dragon Spacecraft is one of the two private vehicles being developed by the United States to launch NASA astronauts from the United States to the International Space Station. Docking is a key process to ensure that passengers arrive at the space station. The latest demonstration shows that the Manned Dragon Spacecraft has the ability to deliver astronauts safely to the International Space Station.

As the Manned Dragon Spacecraft connects to the International Space Station, the three people stationed above will open the hatch door of the capsule, enter it and greet the intelligent dummy Ripley. They will also open 180 kilograms of cargo on board the Manned Dragon Spacecraft and conduct a series of tests on the spacecraft in the coming days. Its purpose is to observe how the spacecraft responds to the space environment, and whether its design is safe and as expected to withstand the test.

On Friday, SpaceX will take the capsule back to the United States and try to land in the Atlantic with a parachute. The landing will mark the final milestone of the test mission and the end of the current flight. After that, NASA will evaluate the performance of the manned dragon spacecraft during this flight and ultimately decide when to carry two astronauts on the next test flight. SpaceX manned trials are scheduled for this summer, but NASA and SpaceX still have a lot of work to do before the flight. (small)